Croft Moraig Stone Circle

Archaeological place

Explorer Tom

Croft Moraig is a stone circle with a complicated past and absolutely no interest in laying it out neatly for passers-by. Beside the road near Dull in Perthshire, its standing stones and smaller inner setting look like an ancient committee still arguing over where the chairs belong. Come closer and the argument gets wonderfully strange. Excavation in 1965 showed that this ground changed shape more than once. A horseshoe arrangement of timber posts came first, followed by an oval stone setting; a larger circle was then built around it, with two outlying stones to the south-east. That is quite enough drama for a patch of grass. Look for the central oval of lower stones, then follow the taller outer ring with your eyes. Historic Environment Scotland describes a cup-marked slab on the edge and a pair of outliers beyond the main circle. The 1965 dig found empty graves too, an intriguing detail that should not be turned into a confident story about who was buried here. The circle stands beside the approach road to Croftmoraig, close to Loch Tay country, so it is a short stop rather than a staffed attraction. Treat the stones and their setting gently: do not climb, move anything or wander into working fields for a better angle. The roadside view already gives you the big puzzle, and a slow circuit of your eyes supplies the rest. Take your time; this place has been changing its mind for a very long while.

What is recorded here

Map note: Croft Moraig Stone Circle, an ancient site, is mapped near Dull, Perth and Kinross, Scotland. There is no need to invent a lost kingdom to make the name interesting.

From OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors) w555224083

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